Cops twist facts to lodge 17 yrs-old in Borstal school
J Shanmugha Sundaram
VELLORE: Little did 17-year-old Chinnarasu of Kalathur expect that being an onlooker to a group clash would land him behind bars. The minor, who was picked up by police along with 19 others on June 3, has been lodged in a borstal school in contravention of rules. What’s more, his parents and activists allege that police have fabricated facts to show that the boy is 21 years old.
Chinnarasu, son of farm labourers Mani and Sundari, was picked up near the Kaveripakkam police station in Ocheri on June 3 for inquiry along with few others. It all started with a group clash among the villagers over the sand quarry following which the two parties lodged complaints against each other. But the police allegedly supported the sand mafia and arrested 24 persons, including the 19 who were protesting against the quarry.
Portion of Chinnarasu’s Class X marksheet mentioning his date of birth | express
Chinnarasu, who was an onlooker according to villagers, was also arrested. However, police allegedly prepared documents stating that he was 21 years old and lodged him in the borstal school, Vellore. However, documents available with Express clearly indicate that Chinnarasu is a minor. According to the Secondary School Leaving Certificate and mark sheet, Chinnarasu was born on May 14, 1998 and is 17 years and 28-days-old as on Friday (June 12).
The police named Chinnarasu as accused in the case and invoked sections 147, 148, 294 (b), 323, 324 and 506 (ii) of IPC read with section 3 of TN PPDL Act and section 4 of TN Women Harassment Act against the accused in the case. When Chinnarasu was produced in the Judicial Magistrate Court, the judge I R Gayathri Devi refused to grant judicial custody and directed to produce his age proof.
“The police kept Chinnarasu under illegal custody on the night of June 3 and took him to a doctor of the Government Hospital in Walajapet and obtained an age certificate stating that he was 21 years old,” said Jessy of Makkal Mandram, who is supporting the movement against the sand quarry.
According to Juvenile Justice Act 2000, juvenile delinquents should be sent to juvenile homes. But in this case, police have falsified his age to lodge him in the borstal school. “They did this purposely to scare away young men standing against sand mafia,” Jessy added. Young offenders aged between 18 to 21 (Boys) convicted by courts under Section 8(1) of Tamil Nadu Borstal Act 1925 are confined in this prison. “My son is traumatised,” said Sundari, who met him in the borstal school on Thursday. “The police beat him up badly and forced him to lie to the doctor and the judge that he is 21 years old. They also also told him to lie that he failed in class VII twice and was not regular to school,” she added. Chinnarasu’s father has fled the village fearing police.
No comments:
Post a Comment